Thursday, January 8, 2009

Sex in the Seminary: New Study Released Today

SEMINARIES FAILING TO PREPARE CLERGY TO ADDRESS SEXUALITY ISSUES

New Study Reveals a Disturbing Lack of Sexuality Training in SeminaryCurricula

CHICAGO, January 8, 2009 - United States seminaries and rabbinical schoolsare failing to prepare the next generation of clergy with the training theyneed to address sexuality issues in ministry, according to a study releasedtoday by the Religious Institute on Sexual Morality, Justice, and Healingand Union Theological Seminary.

The study, titled Sex and the Seminary: Preparing Ministers for SexualHealth and Justice, reports that sexuality courses are largely absent frommost seminary curricula and degree requirements. At most institutions,students can graduate without studying sexual ethics or taking a singlesexuality-based course.

"With so many congregations embroiled in controversy over sexual orientationissues, or struggling to address teenage sexuality, or concerned aboutsexual abuse, there is an urgent need for ordained clergy who understand theconnections between religion and sexuality," said the Rev. Debra W. Haffner,director of the Religious Institute. "Seminaries must do more to preparestudents to minister to their congregants and be effective advocates forsexual health and justice."

Sex and the Seminary is based on a survey of 36 leading seminaries andrabbinical schools of diverse size and geographic location, representing arange of Christian, Jewish and Unitarian Universalist traditions. Eachinstitution was evaluated on criteria for a sexually healthy and responsibleseminary. These criteria measure sexuality content in the curriculum;institutional commitment to sexuality and gender equity (e.g., the existenceof anti-discrimination, sexual harassment and full inclusion policies); andadvocacy and support for sexuality-related issues. The criteria weredeveloped by an advisory group of seminary deans, faculty and clergy withexpertise in sexuality. The survey and final report were authored by Dr.Kate Ott, associate director of the Religious Institute.

The survey revealed that:

. More than 90% of the seminaries surveyed do not require full-semester,sexuality-based courses for graduation. . Two-thirds of the seminaries do not offer a course in sexuality issues forreligious professionals. Three-quarters do not offer a course in lesbian,gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) studies. . Seminaries offer three times as many courses in women's and feministstudies as they do in LGBT studies or other sexuality-related issues. . The next generation of scholars is not addressing sexuality issues.Sexuality-based courses are taught by senior professors or adjunct faculty,not by upcoming faculty seeking tenured positions.

The study also noted a "stained glass ceiling" in seminaries and a lack ofpolicies on full inclusion of women and gay, lesbian and transgenderpersons. Two-thirds of the seminaries surveyed have fewer than 40% womenserving in faculty, senior administrative and trustee positions, in contrastto student populations that are frequently more than 50% women.

"Religious leaders have a unique opportunity, and moral obligation, to helpcongregations and communities wrestle with the complexities of sexual healthand justice," said Rev. Dr. Serene Jones, president of Union TheologicalSeminary in New York. "Is there any subject more important and moreon-the-ground crucial than sexual health and human flourishing? This studychallenges all of us who are charged with ministerial formation to lookclosely at the institutional environment we create to prepare our studentsto be active and informed - and hence to effect people from the pulpit andin the public square."

Sex and the Seminary recommends that seminaries and religious denominationsdevelop and require competencies in sexuality for ordination to ministry.Most denominations currently do not require ministerial candidates to becompetent in sexual health and education beyond sexual harassmentprevention, the study noted.

The study also recommends that the Association of Theological Schools, theaccrediting body for U.S. seminaries, integrate sexuality education into itsstandards for ministerial formation. It calls on seminaries to strengthentheir curricular offerings and inclusion policies, invest in facultydevelopment and continuing education, and pursue collaboration with otherinstitutions and advocacy groups to expand educational opportunities forseminarians regarding sexuality issues.

The Religious Institute on Sexual Morality, Justice, and Healing, based inWestport, CT, is a nonprofit, multifaith organization dedicated toadvocating for sexual health, education and justice in faith communities andsociety. More than 4,400 clergy, seminary presidents and deans, religiousscholars and other religious leaders representing more than 50 faithtraditions are part of the Religious Institute's national network.

Union Theological Seminary, founded in 1836, is an independent, ecumenicalgraduate school of theology with the mission to educate men and women forministries in the Christian faith, service in contemporary society and studyof the great issues of our time. Located in New York City--where the localand the global intersect daily--the Seminary believes that the city remainsa critical training ground for facing such issues.

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